


Bittersweet

by w00zi



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-20 13:41:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10663797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/w00zi/pseuds/w00zi
Summary: It was bizarre how things like Sugar and Salt seemed to taste so good, Go together so well to make such a satisfying flavour; like many things in this world, That was a mystery.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you wondering which is the main focus ship in this fanfic--This will mostly be more of a Soonhoon directed fic than a Jicheol! Next time will be more Jicheol probably ^^/   
> I hate to break it to you though that this isn't really a shippy fanfic despite there will be fluffy moments vuv this more of a friendship fanfic!
> 
> I wanna write more stuff but I don't have a writing partner so I decided to work on writing fics instead! I'm used to only doing writing from one perspective (Jihoon's) So forgive me if things kinda suck, I hope to get back to writing like I used to.

 

It was bizarre how things like Sugar and Salt seemed to taste so good-- Go together so well to make such a satisfying flavour; like many things in this world, That was a mystery.

Jihoon found himself asking questions like these often-- and Maybe it was because he was always sick to some degree that he looked at the little differences in life so closely and asked questions sometimes that weren't regularly asked. He had the want and urge to learn more and more and more. ' _Cognizant with a bit of Pedanticy_ ' was what Jihoon called it, Although, Seungcheol wasn't quite sure if that was a truly a compliment or not and Seungcheol thought this was funny. He thought _Jihoon_  was funny.

"Why does that matter so much to you?" Seungcheol inquired with amusement riddling through his voice, reaching for one of the candy covered pretzels in the bag that Jihoon held and Jihoon's eyebrows rose as he turned his head to look at him with such an incredulous look as he yanked the bag away from his grasp despite the elder already collecting some of the pretzels in his hand and beginning to nibble away on them. The question of how a salty candy coated pretzel seemed to taste so good despite the contrasting flavours. "How does it  _Not_  Matter to you?" Jihoon Quipped, "Aren't you a _LITTLE_ curious?" Jihoon could only huff softly in response to it, clicking his tongue as he quietly took another pretzel and nibbled on it-- Only one at a time and savoured the flavours that were somehow so baffling to him. Seungcheol seemed to laugh at Jihoon's expression as he did and shake his head in a sort of disbelief at these small quirks that accompanied the younger, smaller boy of them two.

Jihoon was only a year younger than him, but he always was eager to learn something new and put some sort of idea into perspective no matter what it was. Jihoon was witty and he _sure_  was interesting; Seungcheol appreciated their time together a lot and was glad that he was able to experience it regularly.

"Well, I've gotta go now." Seungcheol's voice seemed disappointed and he could see in Jihoon's eyes that he was a little disappointed too-- but all he could do was wave a hand at the other. "Finally. I'm trying to savour these candies but they'll be all gone if I keep sharing them with you." Jihoon pertly input as he shifted in his spot on the hospital bed, straightening his posture. "Close the door behind you, please."

Seungcheol couldn't help but snort at that-- Jihoon was always like that.  
"Alright, I'll see you later, Ji." The elder said simply before waving and heading out, making sure to close the door.

When the door clicked shut, Jihoon's posture softened and he seemed to slowly crumple in on himself as he slowly placed down the bag into his lap and looked at his hands before his gaze shifted to the door that was closed now, Huffing quietly; There it was, How he _truly_ felt.

Jihoon was never great at expressing how he felt and Seungcheol knew this well so easily, he could see past it and Jihoon didn't have to worry about putting on false airs or having to render and filter himself because Seungcheol wouldn't get hurt (on most occasions, anyway)-- No, Seungcheol has known Jihoon way too long to _not_  know that Jihoon was going to sulk as soon as the door closed and fashion a small pout across his lips; the silence of the room that was once filled with laughter and soft conversation now deafening with a piercing sound of white noise filling the space behind his ears.

Jihoon moved his legs now letting them hang off of the side of his bed before letting his feet touch the cold ground--a shiver coursing through him before he slipped on his slippers and leant down to place the bag of candy into his backpack, slinging it over his arms and heading out of the room. Peeking around the corners for any staff before walking with a brisk speed down the hall-- Down the hall and suddenly into an individual around his age and Said Individual Inhaled sharply, wailing in pain. Which subsequentially caused Jihoon to quickly regress backwards in caution but soon after, quickly speeding closer and covering his loud noises with the palm of his hand. "Shut! Up!" Jihoon hissed, with a type of urgency that was off-putting for the one who had _ACTUALLY_  been injured here and was now getting his mouth covered.

The stranger before him had silverish-blue hair that made him stand out almost as much as Jihoon's Soft Purple colours that he currently sporting in his own hair and The one before him who was definitely making too much noise, was bringing too much attention to the already too inconspicuous pair and so Jihoon quickly clamped his hand on the other's wailing mouth and pulled the two of them out the back doors to where the playground was.

When Jihoon realized that there was little around them out here, he let him go-- But of course, the true main reason was because that certain stranger decided to lick a streak of saliva across his palm, in which Jihoon could only shriek in disgust and withdraw his hand, waving it around in the air as if it was a hot temperature and he was trying to cool it before wiping it on his hospital pant legs and groaning in disgust.

"Jesus." Jihoon complained under his breath as he glared at the other from the corner of his eye. "Why are you glaring at me when you assaulted me and then kidnapped me to hide your crimes?!" The stranger exclaimed and Jihoon rolled his eyes, "Don't you think that's a bit dramatic?" Jihoon questioned curtly before the other quipped in quickly, "Don't you think you dragging _me_ out here was a _bit_ dramatic?"

 **Touché**. He _did_  have a point . . . Jihoon hated that.

  
Jihoon sighed and moved away from the annoying other to go and settle into a swing, his hands tightening around the metal chains as he kicked off his feet and let himself begin to swing forward and back slowly. To his dismay, the other who had made so much noise prior sat beside him and swung too, Just one hand grasping the metal chains tightly as he did. "Why are you swinging here, You can leave now." Jihoon questioned monotonously before his eyes seemed to finally focus in on the other's arm that was free of the swing-- Confined in a sling. "Is it not dangerous for you?" Jihoon questioned again, eyebrows quirking. "Have you not broken enough?"

"Sometimes you have to live life on the edge." The silver-haired boy input, wiggling his eyebrows playfully before he laughed heartily-- His eyes slanting into such an endearing way that Jihoon could only get annoyed at it. "Idiot. . ." Jihoon grumbled under his breath as he looked away and slightly shook his head tiredly but said none else as he continued to swing; and when they weren't speaking and simply only sat there to swing for who knows how long Jihoon hated how he enjoyed this loudmouth's company despite all things considered and he wondered just _how_ lonely he was to think such a thing.

"Why did you kidnap me out here?" The boy questioned and Jihoon rolled his eyes, "I didn't _kidnap_  you." Jihoon emphatically jabbed in response--a quick retort before huffing silently, "You can get in trouble for going out late, But I wanted to come out." Jihoon simply spoke, slowly stilling his swings to a slower motion by kicking his feet at the dirt.

"Why did you want to come out?" The other asked, seemingly unsatisfied with such a terse and contentless answer to his question, He wanted to know more. "Because?" Jihoon jibed back with attitude, not very happy with the other's prying questions, but despite Jihoon's hostile tone, the other only smiled wider. " _Beeecaauuuseee_  . . . why?" He continued to ask as if his words were saying ' _Too Sparse_!' and Jihoon sighed in frustration, "Because I wanted some fresh air."

"And what else?"

" . . . " Jihoon was staring at him so blankly in disbelief. "Because . . . it's stuffy in the hospital."

"And Why else?"

"For the love of--" Jihoon inhaled sharply and pinched the bridge of his nose. " _Because_ I like the night air, _Because_ I like the swings, _Because_ I like the contrast of the dark sky with the stars and moon illuminating in the scenery, Because It's not completely quiet outside--there's an ambience?! Because it's too quiet in my room, Because I get lonely in the room by myself ?!" Jihoon shouted out, throwing his hands up in annoyance.

"Because--!!" Jihoon suddenly came to a halt as he realised he'd said so much . . . _too much_.

The boy beside him was smiling with a pleased look and Jihoon scoffed and lowered his head, looking down to his feet; A dusted pink colour was quickly filling into the apples of his cheeks, the tips of his ears and giving him a hue that even showed in the dim lights that lit the Hospital's playground. "Okay." The boy finally spoke before swinging a bit more lively now; with contentment. Jihoon only rolled his eyes now, not trying to speak too much because of the obvious rubescent colour that was settled in on his features.

"You're cute." The boy finally spoke after countless moments, filling the comfortably uncomfortable silence and this was all he said.

Jihoon, who was already flustered, rose to his feet and angrily stomped off in a sort of Gaffe action; embarrassed, flustered, caught off guard.  
"Kwon Soonyoung, You're _So_ Annoying!" Jihoon spat as he rushed back into the hospital in annoyance, giving up on his time outside now and heading back up to his hospital room.

Soonyoung, on the other hand, sat with an unbridled ebullience and satisfaction with himself and his actions, that it took him a hot second to realise that the other had shouted out his name. Didn't he meet him for the first time? Soonyoung could only stroke his chin in curiosity as he pondered on it and The thought lingered on with him through the night and on till the next day. Soonyoung was a guy who was 'Airy' and 'Absent-headed' as well as Many types of synonyms that were given to him, but at the end of the day, he had many thoughts in his mind and it wasn't that he _didn't_ think deeply on situations, but more that he had _too many_ things to think about and sometimes he couldn't slow himself down to only think about one of them for a long period of time.

Soonyoung Took pride in the fact that people were always shocked by his depth and intelligence once they got a chance to see that side of him that applied himself.  
Albeit, Still, He was a big puppy.

Soonyoung pushed himself up with his uninjured arm and grunted quietly before stretching and squirming a little in his place on his hospital bed. Sleeping was uncomfortable because he couldn't sleep on his side or move too much or it would aggravate the pain that accompanied his arm but Soonyoung wasn't unfamiliar with injuries-- No, Soonyoung got them A lot. As a _Professional_ dancer and Taekwondo _master_ , (Less of a _master professional_ , but that was simply what _he_  called himself.) he was familiar with many injuries: Sprained ankle, Sprained knee, Kneck strains, Broken toes, Broken Fingers, Broken leg, Broken arm, Fractures, Dislocations-- he could go on and on; but Soonyoung, however, Considered these to be trophies of some sort and many thought he was crazy but Soonyoung explained further each time he got a chance that these injuries were just implications that he was working hard-- Although, His older sister, Minkyung seemed to disagree with this fact and say it was because he was clumsy.

Filing out of bed, Soonyoung slipped on his hospital slippers and decided to take a stroll through the hospital again. There was always something interesting to see and he was one who liked to see new and interesting things; It was too boring in this room.

Leaving from his space, he closed the door behind him and Sauntered across the halls of the hospital, It was early this day and it was calmer than the previous days inside despite the few things that seemed to catch his attention-- The sounds of children giggling and playing from outside, screaming in joyous action as they played Red light, Green light (from the sounds of it.) and some nurses chattered--patients chattered, that amongst the usual hospital type noises maybe you would expect to hear.

Strolling along the hallways, the memory of the boy with purple hair entered his thoughts--The cute one; The cute one who was lonely, grumpy, and knew his name somehow. Soonyoung wondered if he should go on a scavenger hunt to find the small boy and before he could even settle on a yes or no answer, his feet were leading him with intent.

Curious, He was _curious_.

What were the rules? Well, Asking for a short boy with purple hair would be way too easy, right?  
That was breaking the rules, he decided-- Last ditch effort; Today was his last day here because, after all, It was only a broken arm.

Soonyoung continued to walk at a calm pace and look around as he did, making an extra effort to look under things-- That guy was small? He could fit there, right? He looked below and underthings, he looked around corners and peeked into the windows of rooms before playfully walking about in a very surreptitious fashion playfully like he was a spy who was looking for his target; His right arm outstretched with his finger pointed like a gun and his broken arm fitted as if he was covering himself and steadying his arm. (Or this is how he imagined it to be.) "Target still unseen, Niner, niner over Krrrzzt---over---" Soonyoung spun on his heels and bent at the knees as he waddled along dramatically.

"What the heck are you doing?" A voice shook Soonyoung from his fun as he turned back, to be met with the purple haired boy-- holding a stack of books in hand with a quirked eyebrow in curiosity and confusion at whatever he was currently doing. Soonyoung froze in his spot and brought his cupped hand up to his mouth, pressing his fingers inward as if he was pressing the buttons on a walkie talkie. "Kzzrt-- Abort mission, I've been infiltrated, abort mission!! The target has spotted me, I repeat, the Target!! has!! Spotted!! me!!" Soonyoung dramatically input and Soonyoung could see the other's face twitching ever-so-slightly as if he was trying not to laugh at His antics. "Can you please be weird someplace else? I'm trying to walk here." The purple haired boy spoke and walked around him, finally able to smile to himself in amusement with his back to the other now as he walked ahead.

Soonyoung followed brightly and easily grabbed some of the books from the top of his hold which seemed to baffle the purple haired boy, why was he helping him? What do you want? Go away.

Soonyoung only smiled brightly with a sort of goofy smile that made the other sigh exasperatedly in response before not even making the effort to question the other, he was so _exhausting_. "How do you know my name?" Soonyoung asked after they walked for a while and got to a door in which the purple haired boy struggled to open with his full hands but somehow managed before opening it the rest of the way with a gentle kick of his foot to the bottom pane and entering in, placing the books on the floor side beside his bed. Soonyoung couldn't necessarily hold many books obviously because his arm was broken, but did it really matter if he carried one or two or even fifty books, as long as he was helping? That was his thoughts at least.

"Don't you know we go to school together?" The boy blandly inputs without much interest in the conversation and he slipped off his slippers and climbed into his bed. "You do Taekwondo and you go to the same school as me." The boy curtly responded as he leant back nonchalantly in his space on the bed and sighed in relaxation before opening one of the books and beginning to read it-- Uncaring, somehow, of the fact that Soonyoung was inside of his room.

Soonyoung took this as an opportunity and silent consent to him being allowed to make himself comfortable as he placed the two books he was carrying on top of the pile and struggled a little to bring over a chair to Jihoon's bedside and sit down. Jihoon, on the other hand, was eyeing him the whole time from the corner of his eye, he wasn't quite sure what the other wanted and why he was putting so much effort here, but he was curious to find out and so he didn't stop him-- despite being thoroughly confused. "I didn't know that. . . I mean-- I _know_  I do taekwondo but--" Soonyoung input with a laugh before Jihoon rolled his eyes. "Jihoon." Jihoon input nonchalantly, flipping a page, "Lee Jihoon, 96 year, Same as you." Jihoon shifted a bit in his spot to gather a sort of comfort, "We Had a class or two in high school and spoke briefly, but this year in college we have a lot of the same classes together."

Soonyoung seemed to ponder on this before a revelation seemed to hit him, "Oooooh !" A loud exclamation leaving him. "Why are you so loud. . . ?" Jihoon grumbled under his breath as he eyed the boy from the side of his eyes and Soonyoung clapped his hand to his knee, "Strawberry!" Soonyoung suddenly interjected and Jihoon, taken aback by the sudden words, took his eyes off his book and brought them to settle on the silver-haired male before him. "Strawberry?" Jihoon reiterated with an obvious confusion and Soonyoung's smile brightened (As if that was even possible). "Yes! Strawberry Smoothie Haircut! Bubblegum Pink Boy." Soonyoung somehow seemed so proud of this but Jihoon seemed unimpressed (and a bit flustered as he rolled his eyes in disinterest and looked back to his book. "You should learn people's name's instead of only associating them with their hair colour." Jihoon seemed offended by this which made Soonyoung laugh, "I'm sorry, I think I learned your name once, but I forgot it." Soonyoung was way too quick to say that and was definitely oversharing something that he should have just kept to himself.

"Great to know how forgettable I am." Jihoon monotonously inputs under his breath and Soonyoung chuckled at this, "It's not like that." He explained but Jihoon didn't reply to that. "I've always thought you were interesting, but we never spoke much, so It was hard to remember your name." Soonyoung informed honestly, wiggling his legs in his seat like that of a small child, "It's like when you meet someone and then you drift off and you forget their name when they come up to say hi, but they seem oddly familiar." and something about this made Jihoon's stiff composure soften some but he continued to stay quiet. Soonyoung, However, noticed it and his eyes narrowed, a wide smile gracing his expression. "Stop smiling at me." Jihoon finally said after a moment, despite not ever looking up from his book. It was like Jihoon could feel it, like rays of the sun or something.

Soonyoung just laughed and it was melodious, "I just think you're interesting, Jihoonie ~" Soonyoung input, already calling him such a friendly name and Jihoon was off-put by it as he glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "You're calling me by this already?" Jihoon deadpanned in disbelief but soonyoung continued to beam brightly, "Yes, We're both 96 year, right?" Soonyoung paused as if he was awaiting a response but didn't even wait long enough more than one beat. "So we're friends."

Jihoon snorted softly at this comment, "You didn't even know my name like--two seconds ago."  
"That's Irrelevant to our friendship!" Soonyoung outburst and Jihoon laughed at this now, his eyes halving in amusement, "What friendship?!"  
Soonyoung smiled again at this and Jihoon soon after furrowed his eyebrows, "What?" He questioned with curiosity before Soonyoung hummed happily, "You smiled and laughed."

Jihoon seemed flustered over this sudden input and he opened his mouth with a deep breath as if he was ready to fight back before his door opened and Seungcheol entered, holding two drinks in hand, "I Got two different ones-- This one had actual fruit pieces in it and--" Seungcheol paused midsentence when he noticed the silver-haired male who was sitting so comfortably in the room and Seungcheol seemed baffled to see him. "Oh !! Eyelashes !!" Soonyoung exclaimed, getting up in happiness as he turned back and laughed at the other who seemed perturbed at the nickname. "I told you, My name is Choi. Seung. cheol." Jihoon could tell the elder was gritting his teeth as he spoke and Jihoon couldn't help but smile to himself at it, finding it amusing as he looked between the two.

Soonyoung and Seungcheol both did Taekwondo and were natural rivals despite how Soonyoung seemed so cheerful to see him. The first time that Jihoon had seen Soonyoung was at the first match that Seungcheol had invited him to and he at the end, Seungcheol went up against Soonyoung. Soonyoung was clumsy and when he came to the front to begin, he slipped with a boisterous laughter and a goofy smile before finally regaining his composure and beginning to spar against Seungcheol. The results were alarming to Jihoon as he remembered it.

Seungcheol was bigger and taller than Soonyoung, Seemingly stronger and more focused than Soonyoung-- But, somehow? Soonyoung had won that match. Seungcheol had underestimated him and considered him an easy play but to his surprise, they were evenly matched and Seungcheol remembered that day most of all because it was the first day that Jihoon came to one of his match, and to his dismay, that was the day he lost in front of him when he was trying to look cool and impress him. Since that day, Seungcheol considered him Soonyoung to be his rival.

"Ah, Hyung, I remember-- but I also remember your eyelashes!" Soonyoung input seriously before smiling despite it all and then turning back to Jihoon, "I'll see you when you go back to school, Podo-hoon!" Soonyoung called after, biting into his lower lip humorously as he winked and gave him a finger gun before leaving and closing the door behind him--In which Jihoon let out the longest sigh he'd done in a while before shaking his head quietly as Seungcheol took a seat.

"Why was _he_ here?" Seungcheol asked, voice seething and laced with a sort of acid to it that made Jihoon snort in laughter quietly to himself, "I Dunno, I guess he was looking for me and was playing spies by himself and when he found me, he followed me in here and made himself at home?" Jihoon explained with a sort of matter-of-fact response, smiling to himself as he laughed again to himself and continued reading his book.

Seungcheol wasn't pleased with this but kept his mouth shut, quietly brooding over something that Jihoon wasn't quite sure the reason and he didn't bother to ask what it was either because the way Seungcheol's eyebrows were furrowing and causing a crease between his eyebrows, it was something troubling him that he wasn't going to talk about despite if Jihoon pestered him or not. "So . . ." Jihoon slowly started, eyeing the drinks in his hands, "The drinks, Cheol?" Jihoon pressed before Seungcheol seemed to snap from his trance, "Oh. -- Right." Seungcheol absentmindedly murmured before soon returning to continue the thought process that he had began on earlier before he laid eyes on Kwon Soonyoung.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Normally I wait until I'm two chapters ahead just in case i get hit with writers block. I have to start writing the fourth chapter still, but I thought I'd still release this one early since there is a lot in here! ^^

Jihoon was finally able to leave the hospital with a whole new bottle of medicine soon into the ending of April. All of his friends were glad to see him finally back and were drowning him in questions of where did he go? Did he go on vacation? Did he bring them back souvenirs and Jihoon snorted letting them know it was nothing like that, but of course, not telling the full story as he normally did and usually no one even pushed to find out more, they just agreed and went back to their lives and Jihoon was glad for that; he wasn't trying to get pitied for being sick-- No way, He just wanted to be as normal as he could be.

Only a few people knew of his sickness and they were only those who he trusted and were extremely close to him, But the number of people that Jihoon trusted was sparse within good reason, it wasn't always easy to meet people who were trustworthy and capable of being in your life forever-- He definitely considered Seungcheol that type of person though.   

Choi Seungcheol had been Jihoon's friend since he was seven and now at the age of Nineteen, he was still just as strong if not stronger friends with him. The first time that he had met Seungcheol seemed so vivid of a memory for him and maybe it was because it was a scary day for him.

When Jihoon was Seven, he began noticing the problems with his heart and breathing, because of this he frequently was taken to the hospital for check-ups regularly to the point where he didn't get many chances to have friends or make them. At that age, Of course, you wanted to have many friends and felt lonely otherwise when you were only surrounded by adults.  Jihoon usually filled his days with watching television or playing games but in particular he seemed to have a few shows and games that were his favourite: One of them having been Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Jihoon loved turtles a lot because of that and one day when they were walking through a store, they walked past a display with turtles inside that you could buy and Jihoon became ecstatic.

Jihoon actually was a quiet child who didn't say he wanted things often, so the fact that he so energetically expressed his want for a turtle was enough for his parents to buy him one and he was so excited about having him that the next day at school-- he brought the turtle alongside with him; but to his dismay, later had realized that he had lost him.

Seungcheol noticed him looking under things and crawling around before he himself was stopping to stare in curiosity. Taekwondo practice was finishing for him and the rest of his group was leaving. Seungcheol let them walk ahead, and the rest who were enveloped in their conversation hadn't even noticed him breaking off from their group. Seungcheol watched the boy crawling around with such a worried look on his face, Seungcheol made his way over and knelt beside him, hearing the boy who hadn't even noticed his presence yet whisper something that sounds like "Haegul? Haegul?! You're going to get in trouble if you don't come out. . . " and Seungcheol only grinned, tilting his head in a sort of confusion, "Did you lose your skull, why are you calling that?"

The boy, not noticing the other's presence beside prior jumped and yelped, landing on to his butt before scurrying backwards by pushing the heels of his sneakers into the ground to propel himself backwards with a hand over  his pounding heart as he blinked wide-eyed, breathing quickly in short quick breaths as if he was having an asthma attack before slowly breathing-- "One... two... Three..." by the time he reached ten, his breathing had returned to normal and he took a moment to gather himself once more-- soon after, his eyes narrowed before he pointed a small finger at the other accusingly. "Don't do that !" The boy shouted with an obvious upset look on his face. Seungcheol himself was more taken aback by the other's response like he was going to die moments before and couldn't speak for a moment. "A-are you okay?" He slowly asked before the younger boy wrinkled his nose and quickly rose to his feet, wiping away the dust from his shorts. "I'm trying to find my turtle, don't distract me." The boy grumbled before going back to looking.

Without a word, Seungcheol got on his hands and knees and began to look too and Jihoon didn't notice this for a moment until he turned his head and saw the other doing it too. "What are you doing?" Jihoon questioned with bewilderment now as he stared blankly at the other who was on his hands and knees just as him. "Trying to find Haegul?" Seungcheol was answering him as if what he was doing was common knowledge and Jihoon paused and sat back onto the heels of his shoes for a moment as if to ponder over the situation.

"You don't even know what haegul looks like . . ." Jihoon muttered softly under his breath and Seungcheol paused too at this revelation, "Well . . . What _does_ he look like?" Seungcheol questioned. "Like a turtle? He's a green cucumber slider." Jihoon explained as if it was the most obvious thing despite his wording. "Haegul has a green back, with lighter green colours and um. . . THE OUTLINE IS BLACK!" He slowly explained with energy as he did and thought of more and more descriptors; having trouble describing him as he never really had to describe a turtle before in all honesty.

"Haegul looks like. . ." Jihoon paused, puckering his lips up in thought as his eyes downcast in thought before lighting up again, "Like-- a Mutant Ninja turtle without their clothes on." Jihoon replied so matter of factly that Seungcheol let out a soft "Pfft--" Sound as laughter fell from his lips but Jihoon didn't seem quite as amused about it as Seungcheol was. "Stop, I have to find him. . ." The younger boy grumbled with a pout gracing his expression, his lower lip protruding and Seungcheol nodded in all seriousness before the two of them continued to look.

"I never saw you at school before." Seungcheol spoke softly as the other rustled through the grass, "I get sick often because my heart doesn't work right." Jihoon explained as he brushed away a pile of leaves and sifted through them before moving on, "I have to go to the hospital and miss school sometimes so I do a lot of my homework at the hospital instead of at school." Seungcheol hummed in understanding as this, "That sounds boring." "It is boring."

Seungcheol, surprisingly stayed with him for hours as the two of them searched to find Haegul and with their joint effort, they actually found him as the sun was beginning to set and the last slivers of daylight were beginning to disperse. Haegul-- Small and wiggly as ever was found and Jihoon was over pleased as he placed the turtle back in his box and huffed out a relieved sigh. "I'm so happy." Soft words as he quietly sat, peering into the container momentarily at his refound pet.

Jihoon suddenly stood after moments of that--holding the handle and standing up now before bowing to the other very formally and swiftly bending at this waist like he'd been shown how to so many times it was a robotic response, "Thank you so so very much!" he shouted loudly and Seungcheol could only laugh and nod, "I'm glad Haegul is safe--"  Seungcheol smiled before a pause had filled in question, "Hey, Why did you want a turtle?" another laugh left him, "You're the only one I know who has a turtle. Didn't you want a dog or a cat?" Seungcheol questioned now, finding that interesting as he went over to curiously look into the container at the turtle, bending at the waist a little to peer in and look at the turtle, wondering why him?

Jihoon smiled, "I like Ninja turtles, and my mom said I could have one too!" Jihoon input so proudly before the two of them shared a laugh that was lively. "Well, I should go home now, My mom might worry." Seungcheol spoke, realising how much time had gone by while the two of them were looking for Haegul before turning. "What's your name?" Jihoon blurted before the other could take a few steps, "Choi Seungcheol!" He introduced shortly, "Lee Jihoon!" he called back.

And after that, it seemed like it was destined that they became friends.

 

"Whatchya' thinking about, Podo?"

 

Jihoon had barely noticed that the silver-haired boy had slipped into the seat beside him, sitting backwards in his chair as if it was intended to be used that way as he rested his chin in the folded arms that rest atop the chair's backrest; Eyes looking at him with a silent amusement.

Jihoon was shaken a bit by it but only narrowed his eyes, "Lee Jihoon, Lee. Ji. Hoon." Jihoon repeated slowly as if Soonyoung was too dumb to remember his name, "I know it," Soonyoung spoke with a laugh now, "But you're so cute like a Grape and your purple hair." Soonyoung seemed so proud of this but Jihoon only sighed, giving up on trying to fight the other as he returned to his papers in front of him, he had so much work to catch up on that he had stayed after classes to get that work done, was Soonyoung looking for him again?

"Y'know, Some people consider this to be stalking." Jihoon spoke so matter-of-factly and Soonyoung looked Playfully offended by the words, "Hey! It's hard not to notice you when you're the only one with purple hair!" Soonyoung quickly defended before huffing quietly, "Actually, I came here to return a book and saw you."

Jihoon seemed to raise his eyebrows in a mock-surprised expression as his mouth parted in a soft gasp. "What? You Can _read_?" Jihoon sarcastically teased before Soonyoung rolled his eyes with a small grin tugging at his lips, "Yes, Very well." Soonyoung replied as a matter of fact and Jihoon grinned now at this, placing his pencil down and resting his chin on top of his interlocked hands that were uprightly supported by his elbows on the table. "Oh?" A hum left the younger and he was smiling as he gazed up at the other challengingly. "What Kind of book did you bring back then?"

Soonyoung seemed to hesitate at this, "Uh . . ." he slowly mulled and elongated as if he was contemplating on his answer, "It . . . was manga . . . but--!" He quickly tried to recover from the words but at this point Jihoon had burst into laughter--cackling and shifting back into his chair, covering his mouth because he didn't want to laugh too loud inside of a library. It was Soonyoung's time to be flustered now, "Hey! I read other books too!" Soonyoung loudly defended before someone else shushed him in a dramatic fashion and Soonyoung offered an apologetic look in response.

"I read Other Books, too." He spoke again, in a lower octave and Jihoon smiled widely, "What Manga are you reading these days?" Jihoon questioned, wondering what kind of taste the other had in anime and manga. "Lately, Cardcaptor Sakura released a new line of books-- The Clear cards and--" Soonyoung started before Jihoon's eyes widened, "No way, Really?!" Jihoon was leaning forward now in his seat with interest now, Soonyoung nodded along to his words just as eagerly, "Yeah! Its pretty good, Syaoran has come back from Hong Kong and gets to stay with Sakura and she seems as if she's a regular girl once more-- But then she starts getting her premonitional dreams again and it seems like Syaoran has a secret--" Soonyoung started blabbering off at the mouth and Jihoon fumbled to cover his mouth with both of his hands again like before. "Stop! Don't spoil it!" Jihoon whined now and Soonyoung laughed and mumbled beneath Jihoon's hands over his mouth before Jihoon narrowed his eyes.

The two were communicating through facial expressions for a moment it seemed; Jihoon had to make sure that Soonyoung was not going to continue on and spoil anything for him before he slowly moved his hands away. "It wasn't a spoiler! I didn't tell you anything too big! There's only like 4 chapters out so far anyway." Soonyoung assured the younger with a laugh before Jihoon sighed, "Only four so far?" Obviously, he was disappointed in that, but he was still glad to know that they were continuing the series on, it had been years since anything was released and everyone had thought the series to be over, but luckily Clamp had more to offer.

"I can't believe you like that." Jihoon spoke in surprise, expecting to hear something like One Piece, Bleach, Or maybe Naruto-- And he didn't have anything against those animes and mangas-- he just simply didn't get into them the way that everyone else did so he couldn't properly relate when they rambled on about it-- Only he could nod and listen.  

"I Also like Naruto." Soonyoung input and Jihoon laughed, "Thought so."

Jihoon smiled to himself before returning his attention to his writing but Soonyoung decided he wanted to talk and list off some of the animes and mangas that he read and was interested in and Jihoon listened as he quietly worked up on homework he missed as well as giving his input on his own here and there; But mostly, He was simply listening-- and that was perfectly fine with Jihoon.

Jihoon hadn't realised it, But somewhere along the line--He was having fun talking to Soonyoung and they had been sitting there in the library for two hours before Jihoon had finished enough work for the day and closed up his books, looking to his phone to check at the time. "Ah," he murmured softly in response to it before reaching over and placing the books in his bag, "It's been Two hours." Jihoon explained in surprise as he set down his phone and began to pack up.

 

Soonyoung reached over to take the phone and look at the time before he hummed softly himself, "It has." A simple of a reply coming from him, something Jihoon didn't hear often from Soonyoung but he figured that maybe the elder was getting a bit tired of speaking so much? Probably not. Jihoon didn't think much about it as he went through his bag and then returned his gaze to the other who was smiling so happily with the look of achievement like he'd done something great.

Jihoon paused momentarily and furrowed his brows as he noticed the other was smiling at him so goofily and aloof. "Don't you have stuff to do?" Jihoon questioned and when he got a questioning look for Soonyoung he asked again "How do you not care that you sat here for two whole hours with me, only talking about anime and manga?" Jihoon reformed his question more in depth now as he pulled his bag up around his shoulders, reaching for his phone and slipping it into his pocket; Soonyoung chuckled at this question, "Well, I can't go to dance or taekwondo because my arm is broken, So I have lots of time." Soonyoung informed before smiling his naturally cheesy grin, "Plus, It was fun to talk about that with you. I was glad to find something we have in common finally, I didn't waste any time at all. I think my time was very well spent."

Jihoon felt surprised at that comment and only pursed his lips. Jihoon sighed softly, but he couldn't help feeling happy about this whole situation-- It wasn't very often that someone had interest in talking to him, that was definitely a rarity. "You're odd." Jihoon announced as he was beginning to walk and Soonyoung followed behind like an obedient puppy. "It's the oddities of life that make life interesting, Don't you think?" Soonyoung hummed in a proud fashion and Jihoon's eyes widened some, blinking slowly as he looked to the other who was happily bouncing in his steps beside him, and Jihoon snorted, looking back in front of them before he softly let out a hushed laugh, smiling to himself but not saying a word more.

The two of them walked and walked, continuing their talk about things and learning a bit more about each other like the fact that Soonyoung's family-- was a mixture of Japanese and Korean, His grandparents were Japanese on his mother's side while his grandfather was Korean. Soonyoung lived with his grandparents here in Korea now but when he was younger he lived in japan until he was 12 years old, but because of his dual background, he learned Japanese and Korean at the same time. Jihoon thought that was interesting and so Soonyoung offered to teach him Japanese despite Jihoon humbly turning it down.

After a while of walking, Jihoon was wondering if Soonyoung was going to follow him all the way home until they arrived at a junction and Soonyoung stopped walking suddenly, "I have to go this way." Soonyoung informed before smiling and waving before making his leave, Jihoon nodded as watched Soonyoung's back for a short moment as he walked away and then he himself continuing to walk his pathway to his own home, He was surprised that it didn't seem like the two of them lived very far-- but it was simply an assumption since he didn't actually see his house.

Arriving at home, he was greeted by his mother's backside that was making dinner, his father who was sat at the worktable with a look of frustration as he sorted and sifting through papers, "I'm back." Jihoon softly spoke, not wanting to interrupt anyone as he slipped off his shoes, neatly placed together in the rows before stepping down on the flooring with his socks and tried to surreptitiously sneak his way upstairs with soft footsteps in hope that he wouldn't have anyone nagging him for today. "Jihoon-ah," Jihoon could only sigh inwardly, and nearly inaudibly, So much for that. "Yes?"  He replied, turning as he looked back to his mother who was speaking peeking her head around a corner, "How many times did you take your medicine today?" his mother asked, it wasn't scolding nor was it annoyingly done-- It was a curiosity, a worry. "I didn't forget today, I took it all." Jihoon replied quickly before heading up the stairs hurriedly to his room.

It wasn't like Jihoon didn't appreciate his mother's worries, But he felt guilty.

Guilty that they had a son who was sick like him and Guilty that he couldn't get better faster nor easily. Jihoon's whole life, he'd been sick and he could tell it was troubling for his parents-- even more troubling when his visits to the hospital were rising in numbers and frequency and one problem seemed to lead to another, A cause and effect--Dominoes.

Jihoon sighed and sunk into his bed, His hand placed gently over his heart as he closed his eyes and breathed in slowly and deeply, sighing as he let it out. Aortic Valve Regurgitation was his main condition-- And I know what you're thinking, and _No_ , It's _Not_ Infectious, it's a Congenital heart disease; basically, meaning that you are _born_ with heart defects. That was the first question people seemed to ask-- in which Jihoon's response only ended with rolling his eyes in annoyance to the question of people being afraid to 'catch' his heart disease.  

Aortic valve regurgitation is when your aortic valve is faulty and damaged in all basic senses. Your aortic valve allows blood to pump to and fro, in two directions-- But when the heart valve doesn't close properly, blood flows backwards into the heart instead of pumping out of the heart. The heart in return to this action has to pump harder than most hearts so that it can properly work-- but because of that, it leads to heart failure and worsens as time goes on and although the life expectancy is till age 73 or something of that sort, Jihoon was seeming to become one of those unlucky ones.

Jihoon's condition was getting worse at a quicker rate and his heart was becoming more damaged. That meant he'd have to more than likely get surgery to replace the valve before his heart gets too damaged and worse case scenario, he'll need something like a heart transplant instead which is a more invasive and risky surgery.

Jihoon took medicine to combat Atrial fibrillation which is a type of irregular heartbeat where the heart's upper chambers quiver and/or fibrillate and increases the risk of blood clots. Sometimes The lower chambers beat without a regular rhythm in response and sometimes beats too fast which causes lightheadedness and/or chest pains-- Sometimes fainting. As well as things to help relieve the symptoms of heart failure-- and upon hearing this bit of information, ' _Heart Failure_ ', many people would panic and get scared; but to common belief of the word, Heart failure didn't really mean that your heart was going to just stop working, Instead, it means that your heart will not be working as well as it could. See what you're thinking of now when you hear 'Heart Failure' is more like what Cardiac Arrest is.

Cardiac arrest your heart kinda short circuits--but Jihoon would rather not think of that since once you seem to have dealt with Heart failure-- Cardiac arrests seem to be a bit more common as if they were steps towards death and Jihoon had left heart failure. Left heart failure was worse for you if you exert yourself, so he had to be careful with how he handled things, but luckily his case was only a Milder Class two, which meant that you're comfortable most times, albeit, sometimes at the simplest of actions like ordinary physical action such as walking could give him a breathlessness as well as fatigue and heart palpitations. Yet, it was mostly only when he overexerted himself luckily.

Jihoon's family wasn't necessarily rich in particular, but from his last hospital visit, he was notified that he should more than likely start saving up money for surgery or a possible transplant just in case there are complications as a precaution. This, Of course, set his parents on the high alert and now they won't let him breathe the wrong way without asking him a million questions as if he was about to fall to the ground right there and die on the spot and of course he understood their nervousness but he also didn't like to be micromanaged either.

It was exhausting, to say the least.

 

  ~ Brng Bzzt! ~

 

The sound of his phone going off took him out of his thoughts and he rolled over to his side slowly to reach for his phone, to see a text from an unknown number-- Eyebrows furrowed, he sat up and brought his legs up onto the bed into a pretzel shape, opening it.

 

From --- (Unknown Number)

 [] Your hands smell really good, did you know that? ' ㅇ '

 

Jihoon stared blankly at this text for what seemed a long time,

 

To --- (Unknown Number)

 [] Who is this?

 

Jihoon sat in wait for a while before the text was read and then there was the Ellipses bubble that popped up to indicate the other was writing and he began to sit in anticipation for the response. This person seemed to either be typing slowly on purpose or they were writing a novel-- but what the hell could you write a novel to such a simple question? "God, Hurry up, Annoying ass. . ." Jihoon grumbled under his breath impatiently as he tapped his finger gently against the device.

 

From --- (Unknown Number)

 [] Let's play a game.

 

He got his reply but-- _How Annoying. . ._

 

To --- (Unknown Number)

 [] Very funny, Jigsaw.  
 [] Just tell me who you are.

 

Jihoon's (already limited) patience was running thin.

 

From --- (Unknown Number)

 [] But it's not fun if I Just give up who I am TT____TT

 

Jihoon sighed loudly at this a brought his fingers up to his forehead, rubbing at the temples of his head as he could feel a sort of tension building behind his head in annoyance.

 

To --- (Unknown Number)

 [] Fine, I'll play.  
 [] What do I do? Whats the rules?

 

From --- (Unknown Number)

 [] Great! : D  
 [] Tell me something about you,  and I'll tell you something about me.  
 [] That will help you get closer to guessing who I am.  
 [] The rules are no cheating. You go first.

 

Jihoon sighed once more and laid back down, rolling onto his stomach and supporting himself in an upright position on his elbows. Jihoon took the moment to think quietly to himself to think about what he could tell about himself to the other, why did they even want to know about him? Creepy.

 

To --- (Unknown Number)

 [] Ugh, I dunno . . .  
 [] My favourite colour is White, I like green too though.

 

From --- (Unknown Number)

 [] Mine is Black and white.

 

Jihoon sat for a long while pondering before he groaned in frustration.

 

To --- (Unknown Number)

 [] I dunno what to talk about myself . . .  
 [] I'm not used to this. . .

 

From --- (Unknown Number)

 [] Hmm . . . .

 

There was a pause, The person was thinking.

 

From --- (Unknown Number)

 [] I'll ask you some questions too and respond with something similar to the question?  
 [] Favourite animal?

 

To --- (Unknown Number)

 [] I dunno If I have a favourite one . . . I like a lot of animals. . .  
 [] Maybe a red panda? They're cute. . .

 

From --- (Unknown Number)

 [] Sugar Gliders.  
 [] Hobbies?

 

Jihoon paused at this, searching up what Sugar Gliders actually looked like and he hummed, How cute they were. Jihoon actually was surprised at his lack of knowledge on them since he actually was well-versed in animals of many types.

 

From --- (Unknown Number)

 [] Are you cheating? ㄱ ㅅ ㄱ )

 

To --- (Unknown Number)

 [] No, Shutup. I wanted to search up Sugar gliders -____-  
 [] I like music.

 

From --- (Unknown Number)

 [] Give me more.ㅎㅎ

 

Jihoon rolled his eyes, who was this person to be asking for more?

 

To --- (Unknown Number)

 [] Tsk. I play a lot of instruments.  
 [] Like Piano, Guitar, Violin, stuff like that.  
 [] I've been told I sing okay as well, I guess.

 

Hours went on before they knew it, it was midnight and honestly, Jihoon had nearly forgotten the fact that he was supposed to be finding out who this person was and was just having idle conversation before he realised it was getting later and decided to ask again Who was this?-- but this time, He was greeted with a Ringtone instead of a text tone. "Hello?" Jihoon answered, anticipation in the lower of his stomach in curiosity who it was, "Podo-hoon!" The voice was easily decipherable and Jihoon quickly sat up. "Jesus-- Soonyoung?!" Jihoon spat out in annoyance before hushing his voice--realising he'd said that way too loud for midnight. "How did you even get my number?!"

"I got it when you were putting the things in your bag, I texted myself and erased the text so you wouldn't have a text history." Soonyoung's voice was so matter-of-factly while humming and brimming with a silent achievemental type of tone, "Why did you go through all of that when you could have just told me who you were." Jihoon grumbled; he could imagine that Soonyoung at this moment was smiling brightly as he let out a laugh or two heartily, "Would you have as openly told me more about yourself If you knew it was me right away? If I hadn't made a game out of it?" Soonyoung asked knowingly and Jihoon was quiet in response, only a soft hum of recognition leaving him because He was right. "Seeeeeeeeeeee!" Soonyoung crooned in a teasing fashion before Jihoon huffed, "Alright, You got me." Jihoon finally muttered in defeat, a pout gracing his features; Lee Jihoon, in fact, was A sore loser.

"I have to go to sleep now, It's late." Jihoon spoke, hanging up without waiting for a response before letting out a deep breath. Soon afterwards, he got a text and he knew it was probably from Soonyoung and was going to ignore it but something was nagging him to at least look despite his stubborn resolve.

 

From --- (Unknown Number)

 [] Goodnight Jihoonie.  
 [] One more question?

 

To --- (Unknown Number)

 [] What is it?

 

Jihoon took this moment between response to add, "Kwon Soonpabo" to his contact list in his phone.

 

From --- Kwon Soonpabo

 [] What's your orientation?  
 [] Do you like Girls? Guys? Both? Half of them? None of them?

 

Jihoon was taken aback by this question and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Honestly, this had been a question on a topic that he himself hadn't really thought about.

 

To --- Kwon Soonpabo

 [] Why

 

The writing of the reply from Soonyoung was right away and eager as if he was holding onto his phone and gazing, waiting impatiently for the response

 

From --- Kwon Soonpabo

 [] Because you're cute and you're interesting! ㅎㅎㅎ  
 [] Can't you see I'm trying to learn about you? 

 

Jihoon paused at this, his stomach was twisting and turning and he didn't know why. Indigestion?

 

To --- Kwon Soonpabo

 [] None. I don't like anyone or anything.  
 [] I have no Interest in that at all.

 

Jihoon was stubborn and this question was too embarrassing for him to simply answer without hesitation and there was a pause in response and he wondered if that was the end to their conversation but with a little bit later he received a message. A picture attachment of Soonyoung sent back that was clearly himself laying back onto his bed with his pink, plump lips pouting sadly, eyebrows furrowed in distress. Matching strips of paper on his face placed beneath his eyes like he was the ㅠ____ㅠ symbol. Jihoon sputtered out laughing, finding it humorous but quickly collected himself, stopping himself from that almost shamefully so.

 

To --- Kwon Soonpabo

 [] Ugh. I don't know. . .  
 [] I guess if I like someone then, I like who I like.    
 [] Be it girl, be it boy; as long as I like them.  
 [] Goodnight.

 

Jihoon closed his phone and muted the sound-tone so he wasn't distracted by more messages and could go to sleep. Jihoon wanted to get up early so he could go for a jog without getting scolded. Exercise was important for his health, but his parents always wanted to make sure that he didn't over exert himself and made sure to give him an unnecessary lecture. So, Jihoon made sure he got up before his parents did on the days he went to take his jogs so he could avoid them completely before they even woke up and knew he had slipped out.

Rolling over on his bed, Jihoon set up a few alarms for himself before plugging in his phone for charging overnight and settled back into bed underneath the covers, dimming the lights, and turning away in an attempt to get some rest in which-- Didn't take too long of an effort luckily.

With Jihoon's back turned, he didn't see the LCD Flashing of new messages.

 

(Two unread messages)

Kwon Soonpabo : Me too.  
Kwon Soonpabo : Although, I Think I might like fruit a lot more than I did in the past. ㅋㅋㅋ  

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly idk if anyone is actually even reading this-- TT but, im starting to get that midlength writers block, i always have the whole idea and ending planned out but sometimes the imbetween is a little blurry to gather what kind of thing i want.

Upon waking up to the sirens of an alarm, Jihoon groaned and rolled in his spot to reach for his phone with lethargy, knocking a few things over on accident but finally managing to get his phone and pressing a finger to the bottom button to open the home screen so he could end the alarm and sit up. Eyes heavy, even as they were closed and he raised his eyebrows and slowly blinked, yawning and sitting in place for what seemed to be moments upon moments longer. 

Finally,  Jihoon sighed and let his tongue dart out to drag along his lower lips as he pursed them together and moistened them, a lazy hand slipping through his locks of purple hair that were messily splaying all over the top of his head and climbed out of bed, heading over to his turtle's tank and looked into it , humming quietly in a groggy voice. "Mornin' Haegul" he quietly spoke before yawning once more as he reached inside to give a bit of pelleted turtle food and mealworms-- all the while, realizing he was running low on those and should buy them after classes today-- Or maybe on his jog this morning?  He'd figure the details out later.

Closing everything up properly, he then set to his bathroom to wash his hands  before pulling on something loose and comfortable for jogging, He'd deal with a shower after the run-- stuffing things into pockets in front before peeking outside of his room with caution, Making sure that no one was awake early for any reason. When he saw the coast was clear, slowly he made his way downstairs, slipping on some sneakers quietly and leaving out--making sure to lock the door behind him as he did before taking a slow deep breath and beginning a light jog.

One thing about the early morning air that was so similar to the nightly air, was that it was crisp and somehow felt fresher than in the regular daytime. . . Although . . . he wasn't quite sure if that was true-- ' _ Note to self: Check if there is a difference in crisper, fresher air depending on the time _ .'

Continuing his jog, he was feeling refreshed and decided that taking the extra stop to the pet store to pick up Haegul’s food might be okay and the journey there wasn't that bad, but normally, he didn't do such a long jog and so as he finally was returning back to his own home, he was beginning to feel fatigued-- Slowing his pace to a brisk walk instead. 

Jihoon tried his best not to think too negatively if he could-- even though that was a difficult task to try and accomplish. ' _ At least I'll be able to see my surroundings, Maybe i'll see something I never saw before _ '  That's the spirit, Jihoon-- Or so he tried to tell himself, He himself wasn't feeling as strongly about it as he was trying to pretend he was though. 

"Yo." A familiar voice caught his senses as Seungcheol jogged up beside him and Jihoon grinned small and gave him a small nod in response, "Morning." A small offer before Seungcheol realized that the other was feeling tired and slowed his jog to match his pace, panting softly as he did. "Don't slow your jog down for me." Jihoon quickly spoke, knowing that Seungcheol was an avid morning jogger and he had probably been out here jogging around for a long while-- Which somehow made Jihoon feel shameful for being tired after only jogging for about 45 minutes. (That's including the time spent inside of the store) 

Seungcheol grinned with a soft, breathy chuckle. "Don't worry, I needed a cool-off." 

Jihoon snorted softly with a grin at the other's prideful words before the elder was slinging an arm around him in an attempt to comfort him and pull him closer. Jihoon easily relaxed in his presence and sighed softly, “It feels like forever since I’ve seen you.” Jihoon grumbled quietly, looking to their shoes as they walked and Seungcheol chuckled to this, feeling the laughter rumble between the two at the close proximity. “Yeah, It's been busy. Anytime I end up going to check on your house-- you’re out and I miss you by a hair or something.” Seungcheol explained and Jihoon only nodded, “Yeah, I figured. Just our luck, huh?” Jihoon chuckled as he looked to the elder and grinned softly before looking back ahead and sighing loudly. 

Seungcheol’s eyebrow lifted in curiosity at the sudden action but let the other build his way up to talking about whatever was troubling him since he knew how Jihoon was . "Mom and dad have been acting crazy." Jihoon finally spoke, breaking the comforting silence-- but finally speaking on the something that was bothering him lately; because of Seungcheol's practice lately, it was hard to get lots of time to spend together and he didn’t want to necessarily burden the other with his things if he was dealing with other things more important. (Although, Seungcheol would always reply to this quickly, ‘There’s little to nothing more important than you, Jihoon’ -- A sentiment he appreciated, but still felt wary on.) 

"Yeah?" Seungcheol questioned before Jihoon nodded, finding himself leaning inward to Seungcheol's embrace subconsciously, "Since last time you went, right?" A sigh left the elder as he gently tightened his grip, he seemed to be thinking about something as he was brushing his strong hand to comfortingly rub the younger's shoulder and relax him. "What did they tell you this time?" His tone was serious, but it had something in it, Jihoon thought it might be . . . Fear? Or even a bit of Nervousness? Whatever it was, It seemed to have begun being present lately in Seungcheol’s voice the more and more he went to the hospital--Which was raising in numbers steadily as of late. 

"Nothing new." Jihoon lied, "Just that I needed to be more careful." 

Seungcheol nodded understandably, "Well, Maybe you  _ should _ do that." 

"Thank you,  _ Doctor Choi _ ." Jihoon quickly responded; His tone was dry and full of sarcasm. Jihoon's eyes rolled as he gently pressed his palm against Seungcheol’s chest, and a bit forcibly-- pushed against it; which would have shoved him off in any situation normally, but for some reason, today, Seungcheol was holding Jihoon extra tight-- like Jihoon was going to disappear if he didn't. 

Seungcheol paused now and despite Jihoon, who was chuckling softly, Seungcheol seemed to have gained a whole new type of seriousness. Stopping the two of them before forcibly, but still gently, turning the younger and placing his other free hand on his other shoulder to hold him in place. "I mean it, Jihoon." Seungcheol spoke firmly and was staring into his eyes strongly with a type of emotion that Jihoon couldn't quite decipher. "I get it, i get it. I'll be careful." Jihoon murmured with a sigh before Seungcheol smiled warmly and gave his shoulders a gentle squeeze. 

"Good, Cause you know what?" Jihoon's eyebrows quirked in curiosity to Seungcheol's question before Seungcheol breathed in deep and slowly before he pulled Jihoon in tight against him, hugging him in an embrace tightly as he let his arms wrap around Jihoon’s smaller frame; An action that shook Jihoon to his core, mostly because it was unfamiliar. "I don't know what I'd do without you, You're my whole world, Jihoon." Seungcheol's voice was low and rumbling through the younger as he spoke, and Jihoon's face was gathering colour. "Don't get so sappy-- I'm not going anywhere." Jihoon softly teased, but his voice was breathless as he did. 

The words knocking the wind from him, he hadn't expected the elder to say something like that--and just as he was there, he was gone. Jogging off as he said he had to go and finish his run suddenly as if his emotions had gotten the best of him and had to jet. Jihoon sighed deeply and slowly for a long exhale  in his absence as he pushed his hands into his pockets, stuck in his place for a moment as he mulled over the events prior. 

For the first time in a while, Jihoon thought, What if he  _ did _ actually die?

Jihoon headed home and it didn't take very long until he arrived and he went straight up to his room to shower and change, grab something to eat and sidestep his parents completely as he decided to go to school early today. 

All of this talk had begun his mind thinking. . . Thinking of something that was  _ frightening _ .    
The idea of death was  _ terrifying _ . Jihoon was only nineteen years old, But he had so many  problems already. It made him think seriously for the first time in a long time-- How long  _ really _ was his life expectancy? 

Jihoon found himself inside of the library, nearly empty (save for a few staff and stray students cramming for tests in their early morning classes) and slipped into a random spot at an empty table, fishing out a notebook and titling it: _Things I want to do Before I die_ \--  . . . A pause followed it before there was a urgent erasing motion and the swiping away of the remains of erasor. _Things I want to do_ ** _After_** **_I get better_**.

That was better. He was  _ going _ to get better. 

There were people who lived to Seventy-three with this disorder and he was going to as well.

Jihoon paused now-- thinking of all the things he wasn't able to do because he was sick and his parents micromanaged him so much that he didn't get a chance to do. What is it that he could fill this list of?.

 

1.) Learn how to swim.

2.) Got to the beach and Swim in the Ocean

3.) Ride the roller coasters.

4.) Drink alcohol

5.) Go rock climbing

6.) Go Planet and stargazing with a telescope

7.) Play with fireworks

8.) Ride a Zipline

9.) Swim alongside sea turtles !

10.) Make pottery

11.) Go to a museum-- Wax museum?? art museum?

12.) paintball

13.)

14.)

15.)

 

Jihoon, before he knew it, wasn't only writing what he _ couldn't _ do down on this list, but what he  _ wanted _ to do-- No matter how outrageous, but what was silly, and fun, and things that maybe he'd  _ want  _ do. It didn't really matter if he did all of them, Did it? He just needed a little motivation, something to look forward too. Not that he didn’t have the motivation of simply ‘living’, but setting goals and having plans--? That was what a living person did.

Jihoon paused now after a moment, the thoughts weren't flowing so freely now and he seemed to have to ponder a bit harder for things and before he knew it his hand was moving now, ' _ Experience love _ ' ' _ Get married _ ' ' _ Have a family _ '

Seconds after he realized he had wrote that-- he erased it quickly and felt his face heating up, Flopping forward and leaning into the table on top of his books, groaning softly in his embarrassment-- Hiding his face into his folded up arms. Jihoon had never actually thought about it, but, He's never actually dated anyone, has he? Sure, he had a few crushes here and there-- but he was never the type to act upon them in fear that they would be turned off by his illness.

The phone vibrating was what caught his attention and brought him out of his thoughts. Quickly, He fumbled for it and picked it up to cease the loud rumbling noise it made across the tabletop and answered it. "Yes? Hello?" he whispered in hushed tones, Stuffing his books into his bag and quickly escaping the quiet of the library and heading out so he could speak up. "Lee Jihoon, when you leave early like that,  _ please  _ let us know." Jihoon sighed deeply at his father's tone and hummed in response. "Alright, Father." he replied very formally before hanging up slowly. 

Jihoon could understand why his parents were so nervous with him-- if they didn't know where he was and if he was alone; if he fainted? something could happen. If something happened and they didn't know where to find him-- who knows what could happen following that? But . . . still, he wanted his own independence, he was  _ Nineteen _ For christ's sake!

Wrinkling his nose, he noticed that there was a notification for unread messages and blinked slowly. Finger tapping the LED Screen with a curiosity as he navigated to the areas and opened them, When did he get those?

 

From --- Kwon Soonpabo

[] Me too

[] Although, I Think I might like fruit a lot more than I did in the past. ㅋㅋㅋ

 

Jihoon paused on this and furrowed his eyebrows with puzzlement, "What the heck is he talking about . . . ?" Jihoon muttered under his breathe before rolling his eyes and closing out of the messages as he stuffed the phone back into his pocket. Soonyoung sure was odd, but he was funny and interesting-- Jihoon could appreciate that. Hating to admit it to himself but the two were becoming a pair of unlikely friends and Jihoon couldn't help chuckling at that thought because the following thought was that, he wasn't quite sure how happy Seungcheol would feel about him befriending his natural born ' _ enemy _ '.

\---

Later in the day, Jihoon found himself adding on small things more and more whenever they hit his mind: Have a snow fight, Play in the rain and not worry about getting sick, drop a message in the bottle to the ocean, Volunteer at a hospital for sick children and play with them-- Jihoon remembered how lonely he was when he was at the hospital and made sure to add that one. Thinking about this, Jihoon was grateful for Seungcheol because he made a point to come and spend time with him at the hospital when he had free days and Jihoon had to miss school; Seungcheol helped Jihoon in his toughest times throughout his whole life.

Jihoon smiled to himself quietly at that thought and began to write: _Do something_ ** _Great_** _for Seungcheol_.

"Do Something great for Seungcheol,  _ Huh _ ?" a voice overhead murmured with a hum, "What about me?!" 

Jihoon quickly covered his papers and turned and tilted his head in a glare up at the familiar voice, "Go Away, Soonyoung-- Jeez!" he grumbled before Soonyoung grinned and returned back to his seat in class. 

After class, Soonyoung made sure to jog after him, as eagerly persistent as usual and Jihoon could only sigh with exasperation to these actions. "What is it, Soonyoung?" Jihoon questioned with low patience. Soonyoung chuckled, " You seem to grumble a lot, Podo-hoon, but I don't think you mind it as much as you put up the front that you do." Soonyoung cooed these words sweetly but it was definitely correct-- something, That he indeed had hit the nail on the head.Jihoon wrinkled his nose up, Ignoring him and walking faster, just to get away from him-- Soonyoung only quickened his pace to keep up. 

"So, what was that list you were doing earlier for?" Soonyoung questioned, walking ahead of the younger, backwards to keep his eyes steady on him as he walked. Inturn, Jihoon stared after  him with a sigh, shaking his head in disbelief at his lack of carelessness to where he was going, "Are you trying to break another limb?" 

“Hmm. . .” Soonyoung hummed softly as if he was contemplating on this, "Are  _ you _ Going to be my nurse, If I do?" 

Jihoon rolled his eyes, "Definitely not.” a quick and very certain answer from jihoon. “I don't care if I'm a medical major, I won't help you." His words were strong but Soonyoung somehow knew he was simply being difficult and Jihoon, indeed, didn't mean those words. 

"I Think you  _ would _ help me." Soonyoung pressed warmly and Jihoon just rolled his eyes before he made a sharp turn to the right in attempt to shake off the elder and it definitely deviated him for a quick second before Soonyoung had caught right back up to him. "You didn't answer my first question though--"

"It's like . . . It's like a bucket list or something." Jihoon vaguely informed and Soonyoung seemed interested in that. "Yeah? I like those!” He seemed to happy about this, “You should let me do it with you!" Soonyoung suggested eagerly with excitement present in his tone.

jihoon rolled his eyes, stopping at a vending machine and fishing out money before feeding it in as Soonyoung leaned against the frame of it, watching him as he did so. "And  _ why _ would I do that?" Jihoon questioned as the machine rattled mechanically and a bottle of juice fell down from the collection. Jihoon reached down to get it but quickly, Soonyoung was snatching it first and holding it out over his head out of Jihoon's reach in which the younger met him with icy eyes.

"Because it's more fun to do stuff with friends, Right?" Soonyoung questioned with a raise of his eyebrows, "Plus," he began, bringing the bottle down to Jihoon's outstretched hands and letting him grasp it. "I want to spend time with you." This words sounded oddly sincere, and one thing about Jihoon was that sincerity always was a bit off putting for him-- if that was the right word. 

Jihoon didn't dislike Genuity or sincerity, nor did he dislike enthusiasm and kindness, but it was something that was . . .  _ different _ and caught him off guard. Soonyoung could see the other had some sort of response to his words he had spoken and that there was a process going about in the younger’s brain at these words;  he thought that was enough for now and didn’t press further. "Think about it?" Soonyoung offered now, before turning and leaving the younger alone.

\----

A few weeks to a month passed, and it was getting closer and closer to summer break. 

Jihoon and Soonyoung had become closer friends with their shared interest in anime and found themselves both having anime nights where they would watch newly aired episodes of shows together or watch old ones together and this is what seemed to bridge the gap between them as anime nights turned into just movies nights and they watched all types of things and learned more about each other day after day. 

Seungcheol, Of course, didn't particularly like Soonyoung being around Jihoon, but he seemed to tolerate it and even join along when they hung out. Still, Seungcheol had a sort of unprecedented disdain to Soonyoung even after everything and Jihoon wasn't quite sure why the two of them seemed to have a bit of tension-- Surprisingly enough, He felt it from Soonyoung's end as well and that was shocking because . . . Well? We were Talking about  _ Kwon Soonyoung _ ; Bubbly, Goofy, Ray of sunshine, Always smiling-- Soonyoung. 

It was crazy how fast things seemed to move because Soonyoung's face became frequent (Albeit, maybe that was because he was persistent on getting to spend time with Jihoon and get his attention) and eventually had become well acquainted with his family. Jihoon's mother actually extremely adored Soonyoung, Babying him like he was her own son. Of course, Soonyoung ate the attention up from his family-- and Jihoon, on the other hand could only roll his eyes in response to it.

"I have to use the restroom first, be right back. Pause it!" Soonyoung spoke quickly as he rose to his feet and left the room while Jihoon nodded, pausing the episodes as requested and letting the elder go to the restroom as he scrolled through his laptop and busied himself with distracting things so he wouldn't be tempted to continue on because the last time he got eager, he was met with a whining Soonyoung who couldn't believe he ‘went on without him'. 

The two of them had decided to do a marathon and Soonyoung would sleep over-- Normally, Seungcheol would join along, but he had a match early morning and decided to opt out despite being seemingly uneasy about the idea of not joining along for some reason. 

After Hours, They finished up the series and the both of them sat and talked for a bit about the anime and then that led onto further talks about other things before there wasn't much else to say and they were tired; Sprawled out on the floor in a comfortable silence. 

"Soonyoung?" Jihoon surprisingly was the first to break the silence. 

A soft hum intone reverberated in the space between them from Soonyoung in response to the call and the elder rolled onto his side to look at Jihoon, showing him that he was giving him his attention. Jihoon could see the movement from the corner of his eye but he didn't move from lying on his back and simply continued to stare up at the ceiling. "Help me with my bucketlist." It was a simple request(Which sounded more like a demand), but Soonyoung seemed pleased. "Sure." Another short wave of silence passed between them, before Jihoon sat up and pulled out his notebook--opening it up to the pages and placing it down on the table in front of them and Jihoon waited for Soonyoung to move and get up to look at it.

Soonyoung, Arm still injured but nearing its final days before he was back to normal-- struggled to get up for a moment but ended up sitting up and scooting toward the table; leaning over the notebook and mumbling to himself softly as he read the list, from bottom to top. Jihoon thought that was an odd action but he didn't question it, Soonyoung always did things in a way that was different from others, but that was what made soonyoung, soonyoung. "When you get better-- ? What do you mean, get better?" Soonyoung questioned in a soft voice that was pure curiosity and There was another bout of silence, Not that Jihoon didn't intend to tell him, but because it was never easy telling someone you were sick for the first time.

"I was born sickly. . . Heart problems." Jihoon started slowly before breathing slowly, He didn’t realize how his heart was beating so fast in a sort of nervousness to tell the other about this--bringing his hand up over his chest, "I've always been afraid to do what I want because everyone wants to protect me--but . . . I want to live my life." Jihoon actually had never said it outloud and this straightforwardly before and when he stopped talking, he noticed that Soonyoung seemed to have a solemn type of expression over his face--thinking about something. Jihoon wanted to know. He wanted to know what he was thinking or what he would say, but he was too afraid to speak.

"Okay." Soonyoung suddenly said, and Jihoon blinked slowly, "Okay?" Jihoon reiterated and queried slowly as Soonyoung looked over the list without responding and stood up. "Don't fall asleep yet. I have to go home real quick, But i'll be right back." Soonyoung spoke and quickly shot up, heading out of the room to leave a baffled Jihoon to stare after his silhouette as he left and blinked slowly to himself trying to piece together what had happened just then.

It took no more than 20 minutes before Jihoon got a phone call from Soonyoung and before he could question him he was met with, "Come outside. Oh-- Also bring a jacket too, okay?" Soonyoung hung up immediately after that and Jihoon was perplexed but sighed and did what he was told. 

Soonyoung was always getting bright ideas that usually weren't that great on the regular, but were at least interesting nonetheless.

Coming outside, he was faced with Soonyoung holding a bag and waving the other to follow him, "Hurry up!" Soonyoung called with impatience and a bewildered Jihoon followed him, standing close to keep up and not saying much until they arrived to an area that was clear, slightly elevated, and empty and Soonyoung began taking out of the bag what seemed to be a telescope and began setting it up. "W. . . Where did you get a freaking telescope?!" Jihoon finally blurted,  one of the questions that were adding to and sitting on his mind the whole walk there and Soonyoung murmured back with a distracted tone as he seemed to be setting up the focal points, "It was my grandfathers." 

Jihoon watched the way the other was seemingly using and fiddling with the telescope with ease and this was a surprise to him-- But, then again, why was he still surprised when it came to Kwon Soonyoung? he was full of surprises, but Jihoon couldn't help but be in awe-- He was impressed, to say the least. "Okay, go ahead and look." Soonyoung spoke suddenly and Jihoon stepped forward to peer through the lens in awe, taking his time to view things before Soonyoung took over and readjusted the view to someplace else; He was good at it, like he did it a lot and had a lot of practice and Jihoon wondered how much Soonyoung did this on a regular basis.

"When I was younger, My parents called me Hoshi," Soonyoung started to explain but it seemed like a random thought at first, as Jihoon peered through the viewfinder lens. "Hoshi means star in japanese." Soonyoung informed before Jihoon looked to him with interest for a short moment and Soonyoung smiled in response to it. "My grandpa gave me that nickname because he said I would shine brightly just like all these stars up there." Soonyoung continued to speak, but there was some sort of melancholy tone to his voice and this was an unfamiliarity to be associated with Soonyoung. "My grandpa shaped me to be how I am a lot." he continued before reaching over and taking control again and Jihoon let him as he stepped back.

"I didn’t tell you this before-- But, My parents died in an airplane crash when I was little, so my grandparents have been taking care of me since and that’s why I live with them-- But my grandpa died a while back and it's just me, my older sister, and my grandma now." Soonyoung continued to explain in a soft voice. Jihoon was surprised to learn this about the other because-- well, Soonyoung seemed like nothing bothered him and there wasn't a problem in the world. . . and To know that the other had been through these things was shocking, but then he realized why Soonyoung was so happy to receive the love from his parents and say what was on his mind, as well as, so shamelessly--act the way that he did; it made a lot more sense suddenly.

"My grandpa was an astronomer and he always taught me about everything he knew and showed me that we're a lot smaller than what we make ourselves out to be." Soonyoung slowly spoke before stepping away and motioning Jihoon to look through again, "That's Jupiter." Soonyoung informed and Jihoon nodded eagerly as he could make out the distant figure of it. "The small orbs around it are Jupiter's moons, They have so many compared to us." Soonyoung spoke and gazed at the moon in the sky above them. 

"We're Miniscule things in our huge huge galaxy and even smaller compared to the universe and that made me think about how life was really so precious." Soonyoung spoke on. "How things could easily be gone before we know it, so we should try our best to do what we can now while we're alive and while the ones we love . . . They're alive too." Soonyoung was droning on and on but Jihoon was listening eagerly to him. 

"We have so many things in this world that we don't know or understand, but if no one ever stops for a second of our busy lives to look a little closer and just simply ask why, Then, how will we ever learn things that seemed impossible before?" Soonyoung grinned now with a chuckle. "So many people believed that the earth was flat for so many years and when they were told that it was round--everyone thought the man who said so was crazy, But you know what? He wasn't." Soonyoung paused before chuckling, "I want to be that type of person. The person who everyone thinks is crazy, but can teach you a lot-- If you're willing." 

Jihoon absorbed these words and realized his view on Soonyoung was constantly morphing and changing in ways he couldn't have ever imagined. "We won't be able to see all the things here, because we aren't under dark skies, but one day, Lets go somewhere to see them." Jihoon stepped back now, turning to the elder and Soonyoung seemed to be curious of this action as Jihoon did it. "Thankyou." Jihoon spoke softly and seriously, and Soonyoung grinned warmly in response, "Yeah." 

The two of them ended up laying on the grass together for a few hours and just looking at the sky and Soonyoung told him more stories about his grandfather, his parents, as well as many things about the universe and the galaxy that he knew about.  Jihoon was lightly versed in it because he loved to watch documentaries on lots of different things so he was able to keep up without too many questions being asked.

"Okay but," Jihoon finally questioned, sitting up and leaning back onto his palms as he glanced back and down at Soonyoung, "Why are you always around me? What's so special about me that you are always so persistent to be around me?" Jihoon honestly asked, "Why me?" Not that he wasn't thankful for it all, yes, he was-- but he was just-- he didn't understand.

Soonyoung smiled now and seemed to ponder on it for a moment before sitting up slowly and letting out a soft grunt as he did. "You're kinda like the mysteries on the galaxy too, Jihoon." Soonyoung spoke which had Jihoon's eyebrows furrowing in curiosity. "If you're new to astronomy, you can only see little blurs of what you're looking at. You're like that-- But when you look a little harder and consistently pay attention, you start to see more details and what your specimen is  _ really _ like." 

Soonyoung grinned, "If you look at the wrong time, you'll miss important things. You’re like that too, Jihoon-- I look at you often to watch your facial responses as well as how you act in response to things like how your hands are fidgeting nervously behind you right now." Jihoon seemed to be flustered by this observation and quickly brought his hands together and this caused a laugh from Soonyoung in which the younger frowned in annoyance now. "Or how you're frowning like you're mad at me, but you're not. You're just shy." Soonyoung continued to speak and Jihoon squirmed some shyly under his gaze and feeling nervous and embarrassed by how accurately the other was analyzing him, "Stop it." Jihoon softly retorted bashfully and Soonyoung smiled only wider.

"Like anything you see in the galaxy, there's always new changes and new things to learn, and that excites me." Soonyoung continued to speak now, stopping his playful jabs at the other that he had done earlier. "At first I was just interested in what I saw from afar and thought it was interesting, but now that I brought up my focus, I realize I found a Nebula."  

Jihoon snorted softly at this now, "Aren't Nebula's just dirt, dust, and gasses?" Jihoon questioned incredulously and Soonyoung nodded, "Yep!" he replied so matter-of-factly that Jihoon laughed before looking away and rolling his eyes as he did. "They're hard to see on your telescope, but they're beautiful." Soonyoung spoke softly before looking at the sky again and humming softly in thought. 

"Mmn. . . And theyyy also make many things that are important, Did you know?" He questioned, tilting his head to Jihoon who shook his head curiously, eyes asking the question instead of his lips which made Soonyoung smile again before looking up to the sky. "Theres many beautiful colours of a nebula, and then, after years and years of existing-- The cloud collapses." Soonyoung sounded like he was telling a fairytale with the way he spoke, but Jihoon surprisingly didn't mind it and listened intently, "A dense and hot core forms within in it and gathers the dust and gas to make  _ stars _ ." Soonyoung continued before looking back to Jihoon with a warm grin. "Nebulas make stars-- they make planets, asteroids, and comets-- So many things."

Soonyoung seemed so content as he was talking and Jihoon could only gaze at him quietly. "Did you know that Nebula was originally what we would call our whole galaxies? Our Andromeda galaxy was once under the name as the Andromeda Nebula." Soonyoung continued to explain before grinning. "But,  _ I _ Think you're the Orion nebula instead." He finally finished and Jihoon curiously blinked as he heard the words and pondered on the statement. "Why is that?" Jihoon questioned, taking the bait that Soonyoung had offered him (Much to Soonyoung’s delight). 

"Because the Orion Nebula is the _ brightest  _ nebula in the sky. It can be seen sometimes even with our own eyes like this without a telescope-- But still,  _ Somehow _ Astronomers missed it back in the day for  a long time." Jihoon snorted again now, laughing at the irony there, "So I'm easily missable?" Jihoon asked now, eyebrows raising before Soonyoung shook his head and then paused for a moment as if thinking it over before pursing his lips and narrowing his eyes in a valiant display of thought. " _ Maybe. _ " He corrected himself and Jihoon found himself laughing again at this. "But I want to be the astronomer that notices you and shows everyone just how brightly you shine, How you shine more than any other nebula-- More than anyone else."

These words caused Jihoon's laughter to still and he seemed surprised at it, Flustered; He couldn't say anything in response but stare at the other quietly. Soonyoung sighed light-heartedly once more after a moment and chuckled to himself; "Aish, Really. . ." He murmured to himself, threading his fingers through his own Silvery-blue locks and ruffling at the hair in frustration for a moment. _ For someone who was so smart, Jihoon really could be really dense at times. _ "What I'm trying to say is . . . I like you." Soonyoung finally explained bluntly and this had Jihoon Sputtering out replies in shock, did he hear that wrong? "Wait--W-what?" He slowly responded and Soonyoung just repeated himself firmly. "I said, I _ like _ you, Jihoon." 

Jihoon seemed to sit for a minute and ponder on it for a moment-- his heart was beating in his chest and he was nervous-- on edge--, he breathed out slowly a few times to calm his heart rate down like he normally did when he was having heart palpitations and Soonyoung grinned to himself, looking at this action and gauging it. "Don't think about it too much, I don't need an answer from you." Soonyoung spoke as he stood up with stretch and began taking apart the telescope and putting it back into the bag that he had brought it in. "You asked me why you, So I just wanted to tell you, There's no need for a response though." Soonyoung explained before he zipped the last zip and turned to the younger. 

“That is-- Unless you  _ want _ to give me one.” Soonyoung input in his normally silly tone, flashing a bright grin before chuckling and lending out a hand to the younger to help him up. "Let's go back and get some rest now." 

 

Jihoon took his hand.

 


End file.
